Treehouse Love
by your royal highness
Summary: Spring Break is here, and Derek and Casey are thrilled. In an effort to end their fighting, George and Nora decide that the two should have to spend one week together in a treehouse. Will it be the worst Spring Break ever, or the one they always wanted?
1. Constant Fighting

**So I'm starting a new story, and I think it's a pretty good idea, but I don't really know.**

**Here's the full summary:**

**In an effort to end their constant fighting, George and Nora decide that during their Spring Break, Casey and Derek should have to live up in a tree house by themselves. They both hate the idea, but as the week goes on, they start to wonder if it's the best spring break they've ever had.**

**Disclaimer:**

**I do not own LWD….blah blah blah. Don't you just hate disclaimers???**

**Anyways! On with the story!!!**

"Thank GOD its spring break!" Casey squealed as she dragged her best friend, Emily out of Science class.

"I know! It's gonna be so much fun! I'm going to the beach…what are you doing?"

Casey smiled and clasped her hands together. "Well, I was thinking that maybe our family could go on a nice, relaxing camping trip by the lake, and we can sit by a warm fire and eat marshmallows and tell scary stories!" She made a 'woo' motion when she said scary stories.

Emily laughed, "And being with Derek is going to be relaxing." She said in a sarcastic tone.

"Oh. He's not coming." Casey moved her hand as if to say 'no problem'.

"Then what's Derek going to do?"

"I don't know, and as long as it's away from me, I don't really care, Em. This is going to be the best spring break _ever_."

_With Derek..._

"Dude, this is going to be the best spring break _ever_." Derek said, thrusting his torso back and then forwards towards his best friend, Sam.

"So…whatcha gonna do?"

"I was thinking a nice little trip to the beach…"

"Nice." Sam nodded his head.

"With hot **babes** in bikinis."

Sam smiled and nodded his head, giving Derek the knuckle. "Nicceeee." He said. "So, just you?"

"Yeah, just me! I don't want to ruin my spring break by having Casey come. She's gonna say, 'You are such a _pig_…'" Derek smiled at Sam.

"DER-EK!" They both said at the same time, mimicking Casey by voice and motions; they balled up their wrists and stomped up and down.

"Excuse me?" The two whirled around and say Casey standing right there.

"DER-EK!" They both said again, and Derek leaned up against his locker.

She rolled her eyes. "You are _so_ obnoxious!"

"Thank you." He smirked at her. "What do you want?"

"The keys to the car."

Derek put his head down and laughed. "You really think that **I'm** going to give **you** the keys to **my** car?"

"Yes." Casey said in a matter of fact tone.

"Ummm…No."

"DER-EK!"

"DER-EK!" They mimicked again, and he waved the keys in front of her face. She reached for them, but he brought them up out of her reach. He kept doing it, and she kept jumping, getting madder with each jump. Then she stopped and smirked at him. He stopped and looked at her strangely. "What…what are you doing?" He wasn't used to her giving up this easily…and with a smile on her face. _Wait that's not a smile…that's a smirk!!_ The next thing he knew, he felt a kick between his legs, and he fell down onto the ground. The keys fell out of his hands as he let out a painful scream, and she quickly bent down and picked them up.

"Run!!" She yelled at Emily, and they started to run towards the exit. "Is he coming??" She asked Em, and she turned around.

"Sam! Go and get my keys!!!" Derek moaned as he continued to wince in pain.

Sam started to chase after them, and Casey started to run faster. The two best friends started to laugh as they got closer to the door. Then Casey heard Emily scream, and she stopped and watched Sam tackle Em to the floor.

"Sam!! What are you doing??" Sam adjusted himself and was about to get off of her when Emily relaxed under him.

"Hi, Sam."

"Hey…Emily."

Casey smiled, and then she felt her herself getting thrown to the floor. She felt two arms pulling her shoulders so that her back was on the floor and not her stomach. "Derek?" She gasped.

"Give me the keys to the car."

"No!"

"I'll give you a ride home," He said, in a very seductive tone.

"Um…O-Okay." She said, and then Derek quickly got off of her.

"Sammy!" Derek shouted, and he watched his best friend quickly get off his step-sisters best friend.

Derek and Sam started out of the school and they got into the car. Casey and Emily followed, and Emily pulled on her friends arm.

"I'm gonna go…get a ride home…with…Kendra. Have a nice spring break, Case."  
"You too, Em." She gave her friend a hug. "Maybe we can have a movie night one day."

"Sure. No problem. Bye!!" Emily ran into the parking lot and towards Kendra's very nice black BMW.

Casey sighed and started towards 'The Prince'. She noticed that Sam was in the front seat, and Derek was honking loudly at her.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!!" She groaned, and then went to open the backseat door, but it was locked. "Derek! Open the door!!" She banged on the door, and Derek smirked at her through the window. "DER-EK!!!!" She screamed, pumping her fists together and stomping.

Derek laughed and then opened the door. "Way to freak out, Space Case."

"Grow up." She muttered under her breath, and Derek took off, pumping the song 'Grow Up' by Simple Plan. She rolled her eyes. "Typical."

The two best friends started to purposefully sing badly, "I DON'T WANT TO BE TOLD TO GROW UUUUUPPPPP!!! AND I DON'T WANNA CHANGE, I JUST WANNA HAVE FUNNN!!! I DON'T WANT TO BE TOLD TO GROW UUUUUUUUUUPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!"

"Derek!"

"Casey!" He mimicked as they turned into Sam's driveway. "Later, Sammy."

"Cya, D. Bye, Casey." Derek rolled his eyes and turned away so that Casey wouldn't see his annoyed look. _Don't you dare flirt with her, or that's the last time I give you a ride home…_ "Have a nice Vacation, Case. Sorry about what happened today."

"Thanks, Sam." She smiled. "You have a nice Vacation too." She said as she crawled up into the front seat next to Derek. _Okay…that was officially the last time I give him a ride home._

"Hey! Watch out!" Derek said, shoving Casey's leg away from where she was going to put it.

"What??"

"You were about to step on a CD!" He protested, backing out of Sam's driveway.

"Then don't leave it on the floor!"

"Hey! It's not my fault!"

"They whose fault is it? 'Devil Marti's'?"

"HEY! That's an oxymaroon, and you know it!"

She rolled her eyes. "It's oxy_moron_ you moron."

"What did you just call me??"

"A moron, Derek!" She screamed as they pulled into their driveway. She started to get out of the car, and Derek squeezed her arm.

"Take it back."

"No." She smirked.

"Take it back." His grip tightened, and Casey grinned as she leaned down and grabbed the CD that was lying on the floor.

"Let go of me…or the CD gets it."

"HEY! NO!" He reached towards the CD, but Casey pulled it away from him. "Fine." He rolled his eyes and let go of her arm.

"SUCKER!!" She screamed, and then ran out of the car. Derek followed her, and then he jumped into a puddle of mud. It splashed all over Casey, and she shrieked. "DER-EK!!!" She thrashed her arms around, trying to get the mud off of her, and she watched her step-brother run into the house. She let out an angry huff and then ran after him. She threw her coat down and started up the stairs when her mom stopped her.

"Casey? What happened??"

"Derek! That's what happened! He jumped on a mud puddle and it got all over me!!"

"Well why don't you clean up."

"Not till after I finish dealing with Derek!" She said and then ran upstairs and towards Derek's room.

Nora sighed and placed a hand on her head as she faintly heard Casey yelling at Derek, and Derek yelling back. "DER-EK!!" She heard her daughter clearly say, and George approached her and wrapped one arm around her shoulder.

"What are we going to do about them? Their fighting has gone out of control!!"

"I know. I know. But we'll think of something. Besides. They have to be together for a whole week anyways."

They heard stomping, and a very angry Casey appeared in front of them.

"I have had _enough_ of this family!!! Especially Derek!! Mom! Do something about it! Take some action!!! UGH!!" She let out a very frustrated sigh and then stormed back upstairs.

"We really need to do something about this, Georgie."

**So how's the first chapter? There wasn't enough fighting as I would like, but the next chapter features them at the dinner table…haha…you know they fight there. **

**Here's an excerpt from the second chapter:**

"George and I have decided that we aren't going to go to Vancouver for Spring Break."

"No!" Marti screamed.

"Yeah, we're just going to have a nice spring break at home."

"Aww man!!" Derek said. "I was gonna go to the beach and hit on hot babes in bikinis."

"Pig." Casey scoffed as she put a piece of chicken in her mouth.

"Well…actually…Derek? Casey?"

"Yes?" Casey asked.  
"Huh?" Derek asked, his face full of food.

"George and I have also decided that the two of you are going to spend the week together in the treehouse George built."

"WHAT?!?!?"


	2. The News

"Casey! Derek! Marti! Edwin! Lizzie! Dinner's ready!" Nora screamed up the stairs, and to her delight, she heard a rumble of feet coming down the stairs. First was Lizzie, second was Edwin and third was Marti.

"DER-EK!" They heard Casey scream, and they all rolled their eyes. "DER-EK! COME BACK HERE!!! DER-**EK**!"

The family watched Derek run down the stairs, a notebook in his hands.

"Derek? What are you doing?"

"Nothing." He said, shoving it under the table.

Casey came stomping down the stairs, grabbing Derek from behind and putting his head in a lock.

"Give. It. Back." She said through gritted teeth.

"Give what back?" He smirked, and she pulled his head back more.

"You know what I'm talking about! Now give it back before I go in your room looking for it…through all of your…._personal_ belongings."

"Casey! Smerek! Stop _flirting_!"

The two stood and stared at the youngest Venturi.

"Marti?" Nora asked, setting down her fork on the table.

"Yes?" Marti responded, perking her head up at her step-mom.

"Wherever did you learn a word like that?"

"Oh! Edwin and Lizzie were writing it down in some notebook." The two middle siblings gave concerned looks at each other, and Casey slyly moved away from Derek and sat down at the table, glaring at him and attempting to grab the notebook off of the ground using her foot to push it towards her.

"Notebook? Why haven't we seen this notebook?" Nora asked, changing her glances from Edwin to Lizzie and then back again.

"It's…n-nothing." Lizzie stuttered.

"They were writing it in some category…called….Dasey!!" Marti spoke up again, causing Edwin to kick her under the table.

Casey laughed. "Marti! My name is spelled with a 'C' not a 'D'."

"I didn't write it!" She protested, and Derek stayed quiet for once, looking down at his food, shoving the ziti noodles in his mouth-fast.

"Derek! What's the rush?" His Dad asked, and Derek quickly looked up at his Dad.

"Nothing." He said with food in his mouth. He glanced at Casey and then quickly looked down.

"Derek? Do you know what Marti's talking about?"

"No!" He said, very quickly. Casey and Nora both raised their eyebrows at him.

"Well? Lizzie? Edwin? Do you know what it means? You must, since you created this notebook, right?'

"Um…"

"Come on, Liz. You know you want to tell me." Casey said, nudging her little sister with her elbow.

"Not really." She said, a nervous laugh following.

"Yeah! Get out of our business Casey! It's not yours!"

"Yes it is!" Lizzie protested! "It's all about her!"

This made Casey raise her eyebrows more.

"Ed. Tell me what this 'Dasey' thing is, right now. Or else I'm gonna tell everyone you still take bubble baths."

"What?? How did you know?? I mean…no!"

Derek laughed and then grabbed his glass of water off of the table.

"Come on, Liz…tell me."

"Fine! DaseymeansDerekandCaseyasacouple." She said, very fast. Casey looked around to see if anyone had understood what she had said, and then all of a sudden, Casey was being showered with water and saliva as she watched Derek spew his water all over the table.

"DER-EK! What was that for???"

"Nothing…" He mumbled, whipping the extra water off of his face, slightly glancing up at his step-sister who was rolling her eyes and whipping off the water on her arms.

_He understood what I said! Well at least it's better then Nora, George, or __**Casey**__ knowing!_ Lizzie thought as she put more pasta in her mouth.

A long, awkward silence followed, and then Nora broke it.

"All right, everyone listen up! George and I have decided that we aren't going to go to Vancouver for Spring Break."

"No!" Marti screamed.

"Yeah, we're just going to have a nice spring break at home."

"Aww man!!" Derek said. "I was gonna go to the beach and hit on hot babes in bikinis."

"Pig." Casey scoffed as she put a piece of chicken in her mouth.

"Well…actually…Derek? Casey?"

"Yes?" Casey asked.  
"Huh?" Derek asked, his face full of food.

"George and I have also decided that the two of you are going to spend the week together in the treehouse George built."

"WHAT?!?!?"

"That's not fair mom!!" Casey protested.

"Yeah! Come on, Dad! Come on, Nora!!"

"No! You two need to end your constant fighting! Now after dinner, I want you two to get packed for this whole week. George and I will provide the meals, and you are only allowed inside in order to take a shower and use the restroom.

"Okay, Nora…this is not fair! I agree with Casey!"

"MOM!!" Casey groaned. "Why can't we just go to Vancouver??"

"No! I've made up my decision! And since you two keep fighting, I'm going to make you two skip the rest of dinner and go upstairs and get packed. Now run along. George just set up the electricity. Oh…and no one comes over."

"UGH!" Casey moaned as she trudged up the stairs, Derek shoving her in the back on the way up. She fell, and he laughed as he ran up the stairs and into his bedroom. "DER-EK!!" She ran after him, and then banged on his door, shouting his name over and over again. Finally, she gave up and then threw herself down on her bed. "This is the _worst_ spring break ever!!" She moaned, angrily banging her pillow with her fists.


	3. Rules, Rules, Rules of Love?

Casey grumbled as she threw her bag down the stairs.  
"Mom!!" She screamed as she stormed towards her mother, who was leaning over the counter in the kitchen, staring at the newspaper.

"Yes?" She asked, looking up.  
"This isn't _fair_, Mom!" She stopped in front of the counter and her Mom walked around the counter to stand in front of her.

"I…I know sweetheart. But you and Derek…you seem to have some….unresolved _tension_ between the both of you." She said, poking her daughter to make a point.

She just scoffed, shoving her Mother's finger off of her. "Derek and I do _not_ have unresolved tension!!"

Nora sighed, knowing that she was not going to win the battle as her eldest step-son came calmly down the stairs, his bag in his hand.

"So…when does my punishment begin, Nora?" Derek asked, smirking at Casey, who just rolled her eyes. "I really would like for it to start now, actually."

"Oh, so now you _enjoy_ this idea?" Casey glared at him as she turned around and walked to get her bag, which was sitting on the foot of the steps.

"I never said that!" Derek said, sounding offended. However, he turned around to face his step-mom. "Now come on, Nora. Let's hurry this week up!" He rubbed his hands together, as he watched Casey lug her bag towards him. He tripped her up, and she fell face down onto the floor, the components of her bag spilling out. Derek bent down and picked up a picture of her and Max. "Ah…something else for my hate drawer. My two least favorite people." He smirked.  
"Derek! You don't _have _a hate drawer!"

"Um…yeah I do. And I really really _really_ don't want to have to listen to you go on and on about how horrible you feel about…_the breakup_."

"Der-ek!"

"Casey…." Nora hesitated. "I suggest you listen to what Derek says. I know that that may sound _absurd_ to you…but there's always a first time for everything, right?"

"Right as always, Nora!" Derek said as he watched Casey sadly walk over and dump out half of her duffel into the trash can.

"Oh…and just to let you know…" Nora said, one hand on each of their backs. "The rest of us are going to be leaving for a couple of days to the beach." She watched Derek and Casey's mouths drop open.   
"What???" They both yelled.

"Well I didn't think that it would be fair to Edwin, Lizzie, and Marti to stay home and do nothing because you two have to be punished."

"Punished?? Mom! We didn't _do_ anything!" Casey protested as Nora shoved the two towards the tree house.

"You both need to resolve the constant fighting. It's tearing this family apart! Now spend a week together, and maybe…just _maybe_….you can find a little space in your hearts for each other, all right?"

"No!" Derek protested.

"Mom!!"

"Casey. Not another word." She turned around, and then turned back again. "Oh, and Derek?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't even think about having another one of those…_parties_….you like to throw where there's a bunch of naked women sitting on our stove and on our washing machine."

Derek smirked. "Fine."

"And the Davis' are going to be checking up on you every once in a while to make sure that you're at the house and no one's over…or in anyone's beds…" Nora said, raising an eyebrow at Derek.

"What? I'm going to be _fine_, Nora."

"You better. Now have fun you two!" Nora said, turning around and walking back towards the house.

"Come on, Derek. Let's get this over with." Casey said, motioning Derek up the ladder.

"No way!"  
"Derek! You heard Mom! We have to do this!"

"I'm _not_ living in anything that George built."

Casey processed Derek's words. "Well how about you go up their first, and see if it's okay?" Casey asked, and Derek violently shook his head.

"No way! You!"

"Fine. Jerk." Casey spat, sticking out her tongue at him. Casey started to climb the ladder and then smirked. _Let's see Derek get really freaked out…_ She let her foot slip, and she let out a gasp as the rope started to tear beneath her hands. _No! It's actually working!!!_

"Casey??" Derek asked, starting to get frightened.

"Derek! Help!!" Casey said, with a strong amount of desperation in her voice as the rest of the rope ladder disappeared from under her feet and she tried to bring the ladder back towards her by kicking around.

"Uh…uh! Casey! I'm right under you. So if you can't hang on any longer, just drop, I'll catch you."

"No you won't!"

"Case! Trust me, come on, Love."

"Love???" Casey asked, stopping everything she was doing and staring and Derek. _God he's hot…_ She thought and then her body went squishy and she let go of the ladder and into Derek's arms.

They stared into each others eyes, and then Derek promptly dropped her onto the ground as he quickly grabbed his bag and started up the ladder.

Casey spent a while sitting on that spot wondering why in the world he called her 'Love'. _ He can't possibly feel….something, could he?_ Casey shrugged and grabbed her bag as she started up the ladder, following where Derek had just been.


	4. Games

"This isn't going to work." Casey complained as she shook her head and stared down at the two sleeping bags.

"Yeah…and its' uncomfortable." Derek moaned, standing up and standing next to her.

She looked at him and then down again at their 'beds'.

"It's _way_ too small in here."

"Yeah…hey…I have an air mattress under my bed. Wanna go sneak up and get it?"

"Do you have two?"

"No…why?"

"Never mind."

"Aw, come on Case!"

"No!"

"Bitch."

"Thanks." She spat back.

"What time is it? I'm hungry…" Derek moaned, sitting down onto the ground. Casey joined him.

"Derek! It's only 11 o'clock."

They sat there for about five minutes, staring at the walls in complete silence.

"This is boring." Derek finally said.

"Yeah…my spring break, and I'm stuck alone with _you_."

"Okay, it's _not_ my fault!"

"I know."

Silence followed and about fifteen minutes later, they heard someone climbing up the ladder.

"Derek? Casey?" George asked as he became visible to the two. "I brought you lunch."

"Pizza!" Derek shouted in joy, grabbing the box and the two sodas.

"Thanks, George." Casey smiled, grabbing a piece of Pizza from the box.

"Yeah, thanks."

_That Evening…_

"I won…_again._"

"Derek, can we please stop?" She asked, placing her cards down onto the ground. "We've played twenty-two games in a row."

"Fine." He set his cards down too. "What are we going to do for the rest of the week?"

"I don't even know. It's only been a couple of hours…and we've already run out of things to do."

"Let's play truth or dare." Derek said, his eyes flashing.

"No." Casey quickly said, getting up and walking towards her sleeping bag.

"Please?" She laid down on top of it. "There's nothing else to do…and it's only seven." He said, looking down at his watch.

"Derek…"

"Casey? _Please_?" He asked, showing his puppy dog eyes at her.

"Fine." She sat up and propped herself up on her elbows. "You go first."

"Truth or Dare?"

"Truth."

"Goody two shoes…" Derek muttered under his breath."

"Do you_ not_ want me to play?" Casey threatened.

"No! I do! Okay…fine….um….have you ever gone farther then a kiss with a guy?"

"Derek!!"

"Hey! You said truth!"

"Fine…_no_."

"Really?"

"Well I almost did with Max…" Derek chocked a little and tried to hold back the pizza that was rising from his stomach. "But I told him I didn't want to."

"He didn't break up with you because of that?"

"No…now have you?"

"That's not a part of the question, is it?"

"Fine. Truth or dare, Derek?"

"Dare."

"Of course." Casey thought for a while and then smirked. "I dare you to…."

**Okay…I couldn't think of a good dare…and I NEED to go to bed! I have a BIG history test tomorrow! Maybe I'll think of something good in school!!! Review and maybe I'll update tomorrow!!!**

**-Alexandra**


	5. Where'd the Power Go? Oh well, Goodnight

"I dare you to say something nice about Max."

"Aw Case! Come _on_ that's the best you can think of??"

"Yes." She said, in a matter of fact tone.

Derek rolled his eyes and then thought about the football player. _Damn I hate him._ He thought. _But only cause he had Case…_ "One nice thing…ummm….uh….he won the championship…but only the football one."

"Derek!"

"Hey! You said one nice thing and that was-" Derek was in mid-sentence when all of a sudden they heard a huge gust of wind fly by and hit the tree house with a great amount of force. Leaves blew through the hole for a door and the hole for a window, and then they heard thunder.

"Derek…" Casey started, her voice painted with a scared tone.

Then it thundered again and rain started beating down hard on their small little house. Casey quickly grabbed a blanket and pulled it around herself, and moved away from the window and door. Derek moved towards her too, into the only dry corner of the whole thing.

"Casey?" Derek asked.

"Yeah?"

"You got anything to cover up the door and the windows?" Casey grabbed her duffel bag and rummaged through the compartments. "Let's see…I brought tape… and let's see…well that's about it. Just duck tape. And this blanket."

"Give me the blanket."

"I'm gonna need it!!" Casey protested.

"You can use mine! Just give it!!" Derek demanded, continuing to tug at the pink and flowered fabric in her hands. Finally she gave in and he took it and taped it over the door.

"What about the window?"

"Casey!" Derek whirled around and his angry face faded into a happy smile. She looked adorable, all cuddled up in his blanket. _His_ blanket. "Let me do it, okay?"

"Okay." She nodded.

He just tapped up the window, and then sat down on the ground.

"Now where were we?"

"It's my turn." Casey stated.

"Right. Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Preppy…"

"Derek! Don't even _start_!" She warned him, and he rolled his eyes.

"Fine. Tell me all of the guys you've thought romantically about."

"DE-REK!" Casey screeched as he watched her face turn white.

"What?" He smirked. "It's a simple question."

"Fine. Max…" Derek rolled his eyes and clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Sam…Scott…"

"Jerk." Derek intervened. She glared at him. "Sorry, go on." He smirked.

"Ummm…Noel…"

"Noel?"

"Yeah, _Noel_. Do you have a problem with that, Venturi?"

"No."

"Good."

"Is that it?"

"Well not _exactly_."

"What does that mean?"

"Well…I mean…there is _one_ guy left…but if I tell you…you're gonna freak."

"Case…nothing is worse then Max and Scott. You can tell me."

"No! I really can't!"

"Uh…yeah….you can. What's there to be afraid of?"  
_My heart being broken, Derek…_ Casey thought as she slowly buried her head into her blanket.

"Tell me…"

Casey shook her head in a negative fashion, and Derek rolled his eyes and scooted next to her.

"Don't make me tickle you." He said, putting his hands up and wiggling his fingers.

"I can't tell you!" Casey glanced up at me, and Derek carefully placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Why not?"

"It's embarrassing."

"Was it Tinker?"

"Ew! No!"

"Sheldon?"

"That's Emily's man, not mine…thank _god_."

Derek chuckled. "Oh my god…don't tell me that it's Ralph."

"No!"

"Well then who is it?? I've named all the guys you know!"

"Not all of them." Casey mumbled, and then all of a sudden, the light turned off, and the whole house became pitch black. "Derek? You there?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm here." He said.

"Where??" Casey couldn't feel him by her side. "DEREK!!!" Then, all of a sudden, she felt two arms wrap around her and her head resting on something soft, like flesh.

"I'm right here…calm down."

"Turn on the light."

"It doesn't work."

"What time is it?"

Derek pushed a button on his watch, and a little blue light reflected onto their faces as they read the time: 10:41.

"10:41." Derek said, and then rummaged through his bag.

"What are you looking for?"

"Flashlight." He said, refusing to let go of her. "Here we go!" He turned it on, and one half of the room illuminated.

"Thanks." Casey commented, and then cuddled into Derek. "You know…you're a really comfy mattress." She said, closing her eyes.

"Well then let me have some of the blanket.

"Whatever…" She randomly chucked some of it towards her left, where he was sitting. She felt his head on top of hers, and she smiled. "Goodnight, Der…"

"Night, Case."


	6. Rude Awakening

"AHHHHH!" Casey screamed; loud enough to surely wake up Derek, if not, the entire McDonald-Venturi family. 

Derek bolted awake and looked around with sleepy eyes, "What? What? Where's the fire?"

"What are you doing in my bed?" Casey screamed again. "Get OFF of me!" She shoved him towards the back wall of the tree house, causing it to move slightly to her left.

"Casey!" Derek said, a huge look of pain written across his face.

"What were you _doing_, Derek?"

"Sleeping! Until you had to get all moody and shove me across the tree house!" He protested.

"Well you shouldn't have been sleeping with me!"

"Casey!" Derek stood up and started towards her. "Do you even remember what happened last night?"

"Oh my god…" Casey looked down at the ground. "Was I drunk?"

"I don't think so considering the only thing you drank yesterday was a coke zero that George gave you for dinner."

"You spiked it!"

"I didn't do anything!" Derek protested, appalled by what he was hearing.

"I'm not talking to you! You spiked my drink to make me sleep with you!" She gathered up her clothes and started down the ladder, storming towards the house to take a shower. _Stupid Derek…stupid tree house…stupid spring break…stupid life._

Derek paced around the tree house, mumbling to himself while running his fingers nervously through his hair. _What is Case's problem? I didn't mean too! She's gone completely crazy! Stupid Casey…stupid tree house…stupid spring break…stupid life._

Derek heard a thump and turned and looked down the ladder of the tree house. He didn't see anything. _Just your stupid imagination, Venturi. _Then, he heard a groan. _Okay, that was NOT my imagination!_ "Ca-Case?" Derek nervously asked down the ladder.

"Derek?" He heard someone respond, and he quickly lowered himself down the ladder and onto the ground. 

He spotted Casey, just out of his view from the tree house, to the left of the ladder. "Casey? What happened?" She looked up at him with teary eyes.

"It hurts..."

"Hurts? What hurts?" Derek was starting to get nervous as he bent down next to her and put one hand on her shoulder and the other, calmly, silently, stroking her wet, brown hair.

"My…my ankle…" She painfully reached towards it.

"Oh. The one you hurt?"

"Yeah." She nodded her head, and stared up at Derek. 

"You want me to help you?" He couldn't believe he was treating her like a child. Like…like Smarti.

"Yes, I would like that a lot."

"Wait." Derek stopped himself. "You're not going to like…try to hurt me or anything, right?"

"No!"

"You're not going to accuse me of spiking your drink, are you?"

"No…Yeah, about that, Der, I guess I was just a little bit surprised that I would be waking up next to…well…_you_."

"I understand, I get that from a lot of people. Especially hot blondes." He looked up into the sky and smirked, thinking of them. "Good times…_good_ times." 

"Derek!" She punched him. "Help me up the ladder!"

"Okay…but it's going to be hard." Derek put his two hands under her, one where her knees bent, and the other right next to her butt. "Here, just wrap your arms around my neck and try to hang on, k?"

"K." She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face into his shoulder. He was able to support her weight on his left arm as he painfully climbed up the ladder of the tree house.

LWDLWDLWD

"Aw, Georgie! Look at that!" Nora said, motioning her husband towards where she was standing, staring out the window at the two. George walked over and stood next to her, handing her a cup of freshly brewed, steaming coffee.

"Is that…Derek?"

"Yes! Your son is being so sweet to her! Aww…just look at that! It's precious! This really is working!" Nora squealed as she started downstairs to get changed.

"He's being a little _too_ sweet." George said, a hint of anger lingering in his voice as he sipped his coffee and stared at the two. He watched his son set Casey down on the landing of the tree house. He watched her wrap her arms around him and then sneak in a little kiss on the side of the neck. "This was a bad idea…"


	7. How about some friends?

Derek smiled at her and placed his hands on her thighs. She stared at him and smiled the biggest smile all week.

"Hey, Derek…"

"Hey, Casey…"

"Thanks." She smiled, twirling the bottom of his hair with her finger. He silently started to rub her leg.

"No problem." He smirked.

"Derek…" She looked down and then back up to him. "Sometimes…you can be a really sweet, but sometimes you can be…" She looked back up at him and her sentence trailed off. He moved his face closer to hers and she moved her face closer to his. They were just about to kiss when all of a sudden, they heard a voice.

"Casey? You all right?" The two quickly moved away from one another and stared down the ladder at George who was staring up at them. They both could feel their faces turn a bright red, and Casey faked a smile.

"I'm fine. Thanks, George."

"We'll bring up breakfast in a little bit…" He raised an eyebrow at the two and then left to go inside of the house.

"Oh my god…" Casey let her head drop onto Derek's shoulder. "That was so…"

"Embarrassing?" Derek asked, finishing her sentence.

"Exactly. _Very_ embarrassing." She smiled and Derek picked her up and put her in the corner of the room. He grabbed some medical tape out of his bag and started to bandage up her foot. He finished and patted her foot.

"There you go. All done."

"Thanks, Der."

_Der. _Derek leaned back and sat on his butt, staring at his step-sister. _She's right in a vulnerability stage…her foot is screwed, she can't run away from you, Derek…she called you __**Der**__…just go for her, boy! Go for her! No, wait, I got a better idea…_ "Hey, Case?"

"Yeah?"

"You know how Dad and Nora set up the rule that we can't go over to anyone's house?"

"Yeah…?"

"Well I'm sure they wouldn't mind if like one person came over for a while, right?"

"Uh…I guess." Casey looked out the window. "Just ask George. He's coming this way now with our breakfast."

"Oh, really? What's he got?"

"Uh…cereal."

"Damn. I wanted eggs."

"Derek!" She slapped him. "Language."

"You're not my mom."

"This is true…anyways, who were you thinking about inviting over? Emily?"

"No, not Emily…Sam."

"Oh." Derek watched her bring her legs up to her chest as she stared down at the ground.

"What?"

"Nothing." Casey liked Sam, she really did, but she couldn't stand being around him anymore…she couldn't stand to be around her ex.

"Is that a problem for you, Case? Can't stand to be around your ex?"

"No!" Casey protested as George climbed the stairs.

"Here you go, you two. Good morning to the both of you."

"Thanks George." Casey said, taking her cereal bowl and orange juice from him.

"Yeah, yeah, thanks Dad…hey, you mind if a couple of people come over tonight?"

"Who?" George asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, just Sam and Emily." Casey widened her eyes. She never said anything to Derek about wanting Emily to come over. That was…_sweet_.

"Sure." George said, and then he left.

"Derek! I never said I wanted Emily to come over."

"Oh. Sorry." Derek grumbled.

"No, No…" She put one hand on his arm. She felt the electricity surge up her arm as she stared into his eyes. She'd never felt this before. Never ever. She'd touched Derek plenty of times before…or maybe it was him who touched her… "It was sweet." She smiled. "Thanks."

He smiled back. "Welcome." They stared at each other for a little bit and then cautiously moved their faces towards each other. Derek's lips finally touched Casey's, and she closed her eyes and wrapped her hands around his neck. He moved his hands to her back, and pulled her closer to him. They deepened the kiss and then let go of each other and stared into the others eyes.

"Whoa."


	8. A Little Bit of Heaven on Earth

"Did we just…?" Casey asked, her hands still resting on his shoulders.

"Uh-huh." Derek responded, his voice shaking, and his eyes becoming wide.

_I just kissed Derek…Derek Venturi! My annoying, egotistical step-brother! Seriously, Casey, you're completely losing your mind if you're falling for _him!_ It's DEREK VENTURI! Don't you dare lose your heart to him! Don't you dare…oh god…but he's just so hot…_ She gazed into his eyes and noticed for the first time that they were a deep brown color. _Never mind…_

_This is like a dream, Venturi. Kissing the girl of your dreams? Oh my god…she's so beautiful…and her curls are just perfect…and her face is just…perfect…and she's just…so perfect…_

They stared at each other for a while and then they shoved themselves at each other and hungrily kissed. They broke apart and Casey started to laugh, letting her head drop to his shoulder. She could feel Derek smile as he rested his cheek against hers. "Ah, Case…" He began to stroke her hair. She sighed happily and slowly nuzzled her face into his neck.

After moments of pure bliss, realization hit Casey.

_Mom and George are never going to accept us. No one is ever going to accept us…not Sam…not Emily…no one. Not one person in our school is going to accept us…oh, and Sally…didn't she tell me she had a thing for Derek? And what about Max? He's probably going to freak out. Everyone is going to freak out. God, this can't happen!_ She let out a melancholy sigh. "We can't let anyone know about this, can we?"

"Uh…what?" Derek asked, confused, and Casey pushed away from him and stared into his eyes with a bewildered look.

"So you wanna tell people?"

"Yeah…why? Is there a problem with that?"

"Derek!" She quickly stood up. "What is your problem??" She started pacing around the room. "Do you _want_ everyone at school to know? Do you _want_ to have to tell Sam…'Oh yeah, guess what? I'm dating my step-sister.' I mean, and what about-" Casey got cut off by Derek's famous smirk.

"Dating?" Casey stopped in her tracks and stared at Derek with a blank look.

"Huh?"

He turned towards her and then leaned back on his hands. "You just said we were dating."

"Oh…" Casey could feel her face heat up. "Well…you know…"

"You wanna date me?" He was still smirking.

Casey looked down at the ground but didn't answer him. He stood up and walked towards her, rubbing her arms. "Case? Is that a yes or a no?"

"Yeah…" Casey looked up. "I'll date you, Venturi…as long as nobody knows."

"Deal." They shook each others hands and then laughed.

"Come here, you." He stretched out his awaiting arms, wanting nothing but to hold her in his arms. She stared at him strangely and his outstretched arms.

"What are you doing?"

Derek smiled. "Giving you your feel good family moment." She returned his smile.

"Took you long enough." She smirked as she wrapped her arms around his torso, resting her head against his chest. He squeezed her tight against him and closed his eyes.

"You know, this isn't really a feel good family moment, Der."

"No, it's more of a loving hug that should have happened a long time ago, moment."

"That's a mouthful." She laughed.

"Yeah…but you're an angel."

Casey laughed again. "This is the best spring break ever."

"Agreed." Derek said as they squeezed each other harder.

_So this is what heaven feels like…_


	9. Nicknames

**I HAVE RE-WRITTEN THIS CHAPTER!! IF YOU WANT TO REVIEW, JUST PRESS THE LITTLE BUTTON, BUT DON'T SIGN IT...ANONYMOUS REVIEWS ARE PERFECTLY FINE!! OH, AND NO HATE/FLAMES PLEASE!!**

Derek delightfully chewed on the grape that Casey had just delicately placed in his mouth and leaned up against the pillows. Casey's head was lying on _her_ pillow; his stomach. She sighed happily and then looked up at him. He smiled at her.

Just…smiled.

No smirk.

A _smile_.

This caused Casey's face to brighten up more as she reached up and pinched his nose between her fingers. "You are so cute." She cooed.

"Grape." He said, and Casey laughed as she placed one into his mouth. She felt his warm tongue on the tips of her fingers as she drew her hand away. Derek closed his eyes and carefully reached down and ran his fingers through her hair. Derek then got a smirk on his face and flicked her on the head.

"Der-ek!!" She screeched, sitting up and staring at him, holding a hand to her head.

"Sorry." He sarcastically said, and she threw a grape at him. "Did you just throw a grape at me?"

"Maybe." She smiled as she got up and threw another one at him. He threw one back at her, and she laughed, chucking a handful at him.

"Oh, McDonald, it is _so_ on."

"Bring it, Venturi." She said, and he picked up the whole thing and chucked it at her, hitting her in the side of the head. She threw some back at him, and ducked to miss another one. He stood up and threw more at her. She laughed, ducked out of the way, and threw another one while laying on the ground. Derek went to throw one, but he tripped over Casey's duffel bag and fell on top of her. The two started laughing harder then ever as Derek rolled off of her in a fit of laughter. Derek's face was turning red from embarrassment, and Casey could feel cold, wet tears fall down her face as she sat up and finally let her laughter die. "I never knew that I could have so much fun with _you_ of all people."

"You're not so bad yourself." He winked. "To be honest, I never thought that I could laugh so hard _with_ you..."

"You thought the only way you could laugh was at my disappointment?"

"Yup." He smirked.

"Jerk." She stuck out her tongue at him.

"Derek! Casey!" Their eyes got wide as they heard Nora's voice yell up. Casey scooted as far away as she could from Derek and she picked up a magazine and glared at him over the top.

"JERK!" She screamed, and Derek had to try to resist the urge to laugh out loud.

"Hey! You're just a bitch. Get over it. And Max is an ass hole."

"Derek! Language." Nora said as she entered the tree house entryway, a pizza and two cokes in hand.

"Pizza!" Derek screamed, his face lit up. He ran towards it and grabbed the box from Nora.

"Pig." Casey spat, and Derek stuck his tongue out at her. Casey rolled her eyes. "Oh yeah, _real_ mature, Derek."

"Look who's talking." He smirked.

"Enough!" Nora screamed, closing her eyes and handing the two of them their cokes. "I swear. You two just don't stop fighting about anything." She huffed. "Oh well. I invited Emily and Sam over…they should be here in half an hour. I thought you two might like that."

"Thanks, Mom."

"Yeah, thanks, Nora." Derek said, his mouth full of pizza.

"Der-ek! Don't be a pig! Give me some of that!" She grabbed the box that was in Derek's lap and pulled it towards him. He pulled back, and she continued to attempt to get it.

Nora rolled her eyes and left. "Teenagers…I swear…"

"You're a really great actress." Derek commented.

Casey looked taken aback. She never heard Derek say something that was a compliment. "Thanks." She nervously said. "You're great too." She honestly did not know what to say.

Derek laughed. "Sure. You know…Casey…"

"Hm?"

"They're going to figure it out sometime."

"Who?"

"Mom and Dad of course!"

"Oh." Casey sighed. "Well then they're just going to have to deal with it, won't they?"

"That's the spirit!" Derek said, finishing off his piece and grabbing another one from the box. Casey was only done with half of hers.

"Derek? We need nicknames for each other."

"What kind of nicknames?"

"Like…oh, I don't know….girlfriend boyfriend nicknames."

"Not Derry or Der Bear…._please_."

Casey laughed. "I hated those too, don't worry about it."

Derek sighed and relaxed. "Well your nicknames right now are Case…"

"Not bad. But not quite…_there_…you know what I mean?"

"Yeah….then there's Space Case."

"That's too rude, Derek. That makes me sound like an alien."

Derek laughed. "Okay…then Klutzilla."

"NO!" Casey shouted, a little bit too loud. "Sorry. I _hate_ that."

"I know. That's why I called you it all the time."

"Der-ek!" She screeched, slapping him in the stomach. He clutched his stomach in mock pain and then ruffled her hair.

"That's all I have."

"Hmm…"

"Cat?"

"Cat? Yeah…Casey…Cat…maybe?" Derek asked.

"Cat is too…it sounds too…evil."

"You love cats!"

"I know…but it has to be cute! I mean, cat's _are_ cute, but it's not a cute name."

"You're so picky."

"Shut up." She mumbled.

"Okay…well how about…kitten?"

"Kitten? Awww! Derek, that's adorable!"

"So you're kitten?"

"Yeah, I'm kitten." She said.

"What about me?"

"Hmm….not Derry or Der Bear…"

"Thank god."

"Der is sort of like Case…too…not cutesy."

"Not cutesy?"

"Shush!!" She commanded. Derek smiled at the girl. He could tell that she was thinking really hard. He loved watching her think. "Hmm…what animal starts with a D?" She thought again, and Derek just stared at her, eating his pizza. It was like his own little show. "Dolphin!" She spoke up, and Derek almost choked on his food.

"No way! Dolphin? What the hell, Case? I mean…Kitten."

Casey giggled, and Derek realized that he absolutely _loved_ that sound. "I've never heard you giggle before." She giggled again. "I love it…_kitten_." He said, and she giggled again, and he kissed her on the crown of her head.

"Hmm…other animals….dog!"

"Dog? That's too…it's just like Cat…it's just…there."

"Wait, Cat...kitten...Tiger!!"

"So I'm Tiger?"

Casey nodded her head eagerly like a little kid wanting to go to the ice cream store. "You're tiger and I'm kitten."

"Adorable."

"Are you being sarcastic?"

"No, kitten. Are you?"

"No, tiger."

"Thanks, Mrs. Venturi." They could hear Sam say, and Casey turned to Derek.

"It's only been fifteen minutes!"

"I guess they're here early." Derek shrugged, grabbing another piece of pizza.

Casey sighed and stared at the doorway with a depressing look. She then stared back at Derek, "Well here's the ultimate test."

"Yeah. See if we can fool our friends."

"Good luck, Tiger."

"Good luck, Kitten."

Casey giggled.


	10. Truth or Dare again

Casey McDonald had never felt more uncomfortable in her whole entire life.

She knew that they thought that they could handle their friends…that was, until they walking into the tree house…holding hands.

The two let their jaws drop to the floor and they stared at each other and then back up at their friends.

"You…and _Emily?_" Derek asked, he was the first to break the silence.

"Yup." Sam simply said. "Problem?"

Casey saw that Derek looked taken aback; his best friend had never talked to him like that before. "No. No problem. Sit down you two." Derek said, scooting over towards Casey to make room for Sam and Emily, who cuddled up together.

Casey had to admit that they weren't exactly the cutest couple in the entire world…well at least through _her_ eyes.

"So…" Emily said. "This is your place?"

"Yup." Derek simply said, practically mocking Sam.

"So you wanna play a game?" Sam asked, and Casey looked at Derek.

"Yeah! Of course!" _Of course not…I really didn't want them over here in the first place, and now they're…together and…well to be honest, I just wanted to watch a romantic movie on my laptop and then fall asleep.  
_

"What game?" Emily asked.

"Truth or Dare." Sam said, and Emily giggled.

"I _love_ that game!! Sammy and I play it all the time."

_So now she takes my nickname for Sam??_ Derek thought, staring at Casey, who, he could tell, was not comfortable with this at all. Derek sighed.

"Who starts?" Casey asked, trying to sound enthusiastic.

"I'll start." Emily piped up, smiling at her best friend. "Sam! Truth or Dare?"

"Truth."

"Okay…how much do you love me?" She said, smiling. Derek rolled his eyes.

"Tons and tons and tons." He said, kissing her on the lips. Casey turned to Derek and looked at him with an annoyed stare.

"Oh! My turn!" Sam said as he finally stopped kissing Emily.

"Uh…D! Truth or Dare?"

Derek leaned back on his hands and smirked. "Dare."

"I dare you to…to…kiss Casey!" The two stared in shock at one another.

"WHAT?" They turned to each other and yelled in their faces. "EW!"

"I'm _not_ kissing this...this...skirt chasing cad!"

"Yeah! I'm not kissing this...preppy von happy stock."

"Haha, very hilarious." Casey sarcastically said, rolling her eyes and scooting away from him._ Do they know?_ Casey thought.

_They can't possibly know._ Derek thought.

"Come on, D. Just kiss Casey!" Sam was getting annoyed.

"Ki-Kiss C-Casey? This Casey?" He asked, pointing at her.

"The one and only."

"Why?" He asked, trying to sound annoyed, yet, he was actually really excited.

"Uh…it's a dare."

"Aw, come on..." Derek rolled his eyes and then leaned over and gave her a peck on the cheek while speaking in Casey's ear, "Kitten." Casey giggled. "Happy now?" Derek asked as he pulled away and glared at her.

"Yes. Very happy." Sam said trying to hold back a laugh. Emily giggled.

"What? What's so funny?" Casey asked, staring between Emily and Sam.

"Kitten?" Sam asked, laughing, and Derek just stared between Casey and Sam. He gulped. _They heard that?_

"Kitten?" Emily repeated.

"Did you just call her kitten?"

"NO! No! I didn't!" Derek said, a little too quickly, for Emily raised her eyebrow at him. "I…I meant…meant Casey."

"Since when does triple D stutter?" Sam asked, and Derek completely ignored the questions.

"Truth or Dare?" He asked Casey very quickly, trying to hide his embarrassment.

"Truth." She said, keeping her head high, and keeping herself strong.

"Have you ever worn any of my clothes? And if so…which ones?"

"Yes….." Casey said, her face getting hot as she sheepishly glanced at Emily and Sam before turning back to Derek. "And one of them was your hockey jersey…and the other was that pink and grey polo."

"You like my pink and grey polo?"

"Yes. And I like that other polo…the white one with the light brown, dark brown, and orange stripes."

"Oh! That one? Seriously?"

"Yeah...and I liked that dress shirt you wore to that party that one time where we were trying to sneak out?"

"Oh yeah! That one! Couldn't forget that day, can we?"

"Nope!" Casey smiled. "Oh yeah, and then there was..."

"Enough! Can we please get on with the game?" Emily asked, rolling her eyes and putting a grape into Sam's mouth.

"Of course." Casey said, fake smiling at her friend again today. "Okay. Emily. Truth or Dare?"

"Truth."

"Who are all of the people you've had crushes on?"

"Hmm…let's see…well of course Sam!" She hugged him. "I used to have a crush on Max while you were going out with him…" She mumbled.

"Emily!" Casey said, her mouth dropping to the ground.

"Hey! You said all of them! Um…Sheldon of course. And…Derek."

"Well we all knew about that one, Emily!"

"I didn't." Derek said, looking clueless.

"You didn't?" Casey asked, dumfounded.

"Uh…yeah…" Derek responded.

"Whoa. No wonder you practically fail all of your classes."

"No wonder you practically fail all of your classes." Derek mocked, and Casey glared at him and then turned back to Emily. "Okay. That's it?"

"Oh! No! Wait! There was that punter…Peter."

"Oh yeah! How could I forget? Okay, your turn!"

"Okay, Case! Truth or Dare?"

"Truth."

"Tell me…" She said, leaning forward and resting her elbows on her thighs. "what's going on with you and Derek?"

**So I sort of changed it. Sort of. Actually, I REALLY changed it! So review anonymously so that I can get it!! Tell me what you think! And...yes...I will re-do it ONE MORE TIME, but only one more time. Hopefully you won't need it. **


	11. Final Author's Note!

**Hey guys...**

**Okay, so I re-wrote the chapter 10 now...so PLEASE review!! Review anonymous so that I can get it and you don't have to PM me! SO yeah! If people like the chapter, then I'll DEFINITELY continue this story!! :D  
**

**-Alexandra**


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